“Across every major category of illness and mortality, married people fare better than the unmarried – not just in the U.S., but internationally,” says psychiatrist F. Joseph Hullett, M.D., in San Juan Capistrano, Calif.

A joint household can mean less financial stress and a possible boost in your standard of living. But money aside, marriage comes with a priceless gift: better health and a longer life, according to a wide variety of studies.

But just having the license isn’t enough; it’s the quality of the relationship that’s key. Women in troubled marriages suffer greater health problems than singles do.

Here’s how tying the knot delivers more than monogrammed towels.

You live a healthier lifestyle
When women find mates, they’re less likely to hit the late-night bar scene with a martini and cigarette.

Plus, monogamy reduces the risk of sexually transmitted infections, since they won’t be going home with a guy they just met.

They’re also less likely to participate in risky activities.

“Married people tend to think twice before going bungee-jumping or sky-diving,” says Jay Kent-Ferraro, Ph.D., a psychologist in Tulsa, Okla.

Mate-less people are more unstructured: “They don’t eat as well or go to bed at the same time [each day],” says Jennifer Freed, Ph.D., a marriage and family counselor in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Committed partnership gives you a weight advantage. Obesity is more common among single and divorced people, according to a 2014 NYU Langone Medical Center study of 3.5 million people.

When you make a pact with your husband to slim down together, “you’ll be more successful than if you try to do it alone,” Freed notes.
Someone has your back
Having a spouse means there’s someone to remind you to take vitamins or get a mammogram.

In fact, married people are less likely to be diagnosed with metastatic (advanced) cancer, more likely to receive appropriate treatment and less likely to die from the disease, say researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Their 2013 study of more than 1 million cancer patients, who were followed for four years, was published in the American Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Married people also have less chance of developing cardiovascular disease than those who are single, divorced, or widowed, according to the 2014 NYU Langone study.

“Married people can look after each other, making sure their spouse eats healthy, exercises regularly and takes medication as prescribed,” said Jeffrey Berger, M.D., M.S., lead investigator of the study and an assistant professor in the division of cardiology.

“A spouse can also help keep doctors’ appointments and provide transportation, making for easier access to health-care services,” Dr. Berger added in a prepared statement.

Married women are far less likely to be violent crime victims than single, separated or divorced females, according to the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Crime Victimization Survey. Married persons experienced 13.5 victimizations per 1,000 persons in 2012, compared with 37.0 for divorced, 40.7 for never married and 83.1 for separated persons, the report said.

You have less stress
Chronic stress can lead to or exacerbate just about every kind of health problem, including heart disease, stroke and cancer.

Plus, stressed people often fall back on bad coping mechanisms such as smoking, drinking, overeating and using drugs, which further erode health, notes clinical psychologist Elizabeth Lombardo, Ph.D., PT, author of A Happy You (Morgan James).

“We’re also less likely to exercise when we feel down or distressed,” she says.

Married people, as well as those in a committed relationship, have less stress than those who are single, according to a 2010 University of Chicago study of 500 graduate students, of which 40% of the men and 53% of the women were married or in a relationship.

The participants were put in a stressful situation. Saliva tests measured their cortisol (stress hormones) levels. “Unpaired individuals of both sexes had higher cortisol levels than married individuals,” said the study’s lead author, Dario Maestripieri, professor in comparative human development at the University of Chicago.

“We found that marriage has a dampening effect on cortisol responses to psychological stress.”

But there’s a catch...
Marriage only buffers stress if your union is fairly happy.

Unhappy relationships with a lot of conflict and hostility hurt physical and mental health.

Chronic marital stress can lead to depression, according to a long-term 2014 study by University of Wisconsin Madison researchers.

And increases in marital problem lead to poorer physical health over time, according to a 2013 University of Missouri study.

So when you’re trying to live a healthier lifestyle, start with improving your marriage, suggests lead investigator Christine Proulx, an assistant professor in the human development and family studies department, who reviewed data on 707 couples, spanning 20 years.

“Engaging with your spouse is not going to cure cancer, but building stronger relationships can improve both people’s spirits and well-being and lower their stress,” Proulx said in a UM press release.

Is He Your Soulmate?
Your soulmate is someone who lights the fire inside you, someone you love unequivocally and who shares your world view. So does your guy make the grade? Or are you settling for a relationship that’s just “nice”? Take this quiz to find out now if he’s your soulmate.

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